Translated from German by Jane BillinghurstPublished by Greystone Books, 2016, 288 pages. Original version published in 2015. One day, Peter Wohlleben, a forester, stumbles across what he thinks are mossy stones but turn out to be old wood. But not just old wood, which would normally decompose, but the roots of a tree that no …
Category: Non-Fiction
Small Memories—A Memoir: José Saramago
Translated from Portuguese by Margaret Jull CostaPublished by Harvill Secker, 2009, 200 pages. Original version published in 2006. José Saramago was born in 1922 in Azinhaga, a village in Portugal. The village has a charter that dates back to the thirteenth century, “but nothing remains of that glorious ancient history except the river that passes …
We are Displaced—My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World: Malala Yousafzai (with Liz Welch)
Published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2019, 224 pages.Review by Mohan Raj A longer version of this review was originally published in The Book Review, Vol XLIV, No. 2-3, Feb-Mar 2020. Reproduced with the permission of The Book Review Literary Trust. Displacement──within and across countries──of large numbers of people, owing to political instability or civil strife, is …
Taken at the Flood—A Memoir of a Political Life: Vasanth Kannabiran
Published by Women Unlimited, 2019, 250 pages.Review by Kamakshi Balasubramanian Originally published in The Book Review, Vol. XLIV, No. 8, August 2020. Reprinted with permission from The Book Review Literary Trust. Vasanth Kannabiran’s latest book, described in this edition’s back cover as "a feminist memoir", is a great deal more. There are at least three …
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Alexander Hamilton: Ron Chernow
Published by Penguin / Apollo, 2004, 832 pages. “Let me tell you what I wish I’d known / When I was young and dreamed of glory / You have no control: / Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” These lines are from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical, Hamilton, which was inspired by this biography. The …
Natural-Born Heroes—The Lost Secrets of Strength and Endurance: Christopher McDougall
Published by Profile Books, 2015, 352 pages. On 23 April 1944, a group of British operatives in Crete captured the German General, Heinrich Kreipe, from under the noses of 100,000 German troops, search planes prowling the mountains, and patrol boats checking the shore. Without a shot being fired, the General—a survivor of the Great War …
A Beginner’s Guide to Japan—Observations and Provocations: Pico Iyer
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019, 240 pages.Review by B.V. Tejah Some travel books are well-suited for pandemic lockdowns. We find ourselves locked inside, while our minds can soar to distant places. These books make us ponder over the nature of faraway cultures; they would be a useless tourist guide and would not include maps. Pico …
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I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings: Maya Angelou
Published by Ballantine Books / Virago, 1969, 320 pages. “The fact that the adult American Negro female emerges a formidable character is often met with amazement, distaste and even belligerence. It is seldom accepted as an inevitable outcome of the struggle won by survivors and deserves respect if not enthusiastic acceptance.” Three strong black women …
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My Name is Gauhar Jaan! The Life and Times of a Musician: Vikram Sampath
Review by Sadhana RamchanderPublished by Rupa & Co., 2010, 346 pages. I have been fascinated by Gauhar Jaan's life ever since I came to know about her. I bought this hard-bound book in the bookshop A A Hussian some years ago but it sat on my shelves for a long time. I finally read it, …
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A Book of Silence: Sara Maitland
Published by Counterpoint / Granta Books, 2009, 320 pages. “It is quite hard to remember which came first—the freedom of solitude or the energy of silence. … I became less driven, more reflective and great deal less frenetic. And into that space flowed silence: I would go out into the garden at night or in …
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